ABSTRACT
The role of smart thermoplastic composites in various structural applications (like in the smart civil structures) has been increased significantly in past one decade. Many researchers have also outlined the advantages of thermoplastic composite matrix based smart solutions for structural as well as non-structural applications of heritage structures. But hitherto very less has been reported on investigating the tribological properties of such smart thermoplastic composite matrices for ascertaining the acceptable wear resistant properties in the composite solution for desired structural application. As an extension to the previously reported studies, this chapter highlights the experimental investigations performed on tribological properties (based on wear resistance, friction force, and coefficient of friction) of smart thermoplastic composite of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), i.e., smart programmable PVDF-graphene-Mn doped ZnO (PVDF-G-MZ) and PVDF-calcium carbonate (CaCO3) (PVDF-CC). The results of the study outlined that the PVDF-G-MZ and PVDF-CC composites possess acceptable tribological properties (i.e., high wear resistant due to less wear rate i.e., 35 μm/min) as a result of which the same may be used successfully for structural and non-structural applications in repair and maintenance of heritage structures. The results obtained are also supported by porosity % and surface roughness based morphological analysis.
